Mental Health Category
Top BLOG Post 1-8-2009
Here is our Top Blog Post for today, brought to you by MedReader:
- We’re All Mentally Disordered: College Age Edition
A study in the December 2008 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry concluded that almost half of college aged Americans suffered from a DSM-IV disorder over a one-year timeframe. Yes, I am behind the curve on this one — Furious Seasons was all over this last month (1, 2). Rather than rant about the very odd idea that half of young adults are suffering from a mental disorder, I want to start by mentioning one aspect of the study — perhaps the most important one. Let’s look at how the diagnoses were assigned. To quote from the study:
All of the diagnoses were made according to DSM-IV criteria using the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule–DSM-IV version, a valid and reliable fully structured diagnostic interview designed for use by professional interviewers who are not clinicians.
This blog takes a closer look at some of the downfalls of the article published in the Archives of General Psychiatry highlighting the fact that we need to scrupulously review the articles that we read and the methodology that was used in the study to glean the real essence of the study conclusion.
Top BLOG Post 1-5-2009
Here is our Top Blog Post for today, brought to you by MedReader:
- Work and Mental Health
“John” was referred to me for counseling services by his primary physician. John’s primary complaint: Panic attacks one to two times per day. I conducted a standard intake interview, asking him about all areas of his life. He had never experienced any panic attacks until one night a few months prior to his appointment with me. Like many people who experience their first panic attack, he spent an evening in the local emergency room being checked for a possible heart attack. This blog reviews the all too common problem of work-related panic attacks and of their confusion with heart attacks.
More Gene Variations Linked to Late-Onset Alzheimers Disease
The largest Alzheimer study ever conducted found four novel genes present in the context of Alzheimer’s disease risk. Four polymorphisms were discovered; however, the connections between the affected genes and Alzheimers disease processes are not immediately obvious.
Three genes were found in previously identified genes. One of the genes is in the gene for apolipoprotein E. One encodes a protein found in nerve synapses of which the function is totally unknown. The other is for the CD33 immune-related protein.
The association with the CD33 is a hint that bacterial infection may play some role in Alzheimers disease, the researcher said.
It is recommended that interested patients be told that a genomic study identified several genetic variations associated with Alzheimer’s disease. However, also caution them that research is at an early stage – much too early to suggest potential treatments.
Top BLOG Post 10-29-2008
Here is our Top Blog Post for today, brought to you by NW Scrubs:
- Psychiatric Diagnosis: Fact or Fiction?
A thought provoking blog on psychiatric diagnosis and the DSM-IV. The basic question posed is this: do people suffer from a finite number of discrete psychiatric disorders/diseases or do people experience varying degrees of human suffering in their own idiosyncratic ways? The problem with this idea is it is not all based in evidence. Herein lies an exploration into a unique discussion of the human condition when confronted by mental distress.
